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Tribal Art London - Mall Galleries

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THE UK’s only specialist top-flight tribal art event re-launches this year as the Tribal Art London with a new home at The Mall Galleries – from September 10 to September 13, 2014.

This exciting new Fair for UK art collectors will feature a wider range of tribal art than ever before, encompassing early ceremonial objects, adornment and, for the first time, ethnographic photography and contemporary art.

The exhibitors are leading and well-respected experts in their field from the UK, Europe and Australia, and will include:

Kapil Jariwala Gallery – Kapil Jariwala is a gallerist based in London’s West End. He has curated acclaimed exhibitions including recently The Indian Portrait 1560-1860 at the National Portrait Gallery, London.

Organiser Bryan Reeves originally started a group tribal show back in 2007, after the demise of the HALI Fair, to give focus to the UK tribal collecting market. The event spent some years as Tribal Perspectives in one of the commercial Cork Street galleries in Mayfair. With the closure of this facility, Reeves has viewed it as an opportunity to take the tribal scene in the UK up a gear.

Bryan Reeves comments:

“The Mall Galleries is a good-sized West End venue that offers us the scope to display a wider range of tribal art than ever before. This gives us the impetus to invigorate the event, re-branding as Tribal Art London. To our original core group we are delighted to welcome several specialists: Kamba Gallery, Michael Backman, Lisa Tao and Kapil Jariwala are all first time exhibitors, and will each bring a fresh aspect and new areas of interest to the displays.”

Exhibited works for sale will include tribal masks, textiles, and a diverse array of special objects created for ritualistic or ceremonial use. Jewellery and adornment is an important aspect of tribal art, as are arms and armour.

Beaded crowns and shell-work headpieces are shown with Aboriginal and African decorated shields. These pieces are appreciated for their decorative and sculptural effect as well as their cultural significance, and are chosen for their quality and authenticity. Ethnographic photographs and contemporary art are included for the first time.

Reeves emphasises: “The early works exhibited by dealers at Tribal Art London are all original period items made for intentional use, many of them museum-quality. There is a great deal of later work on the market today, made not for use in the tribe but to serve the consumer demands of a tourist trade. Our exhibitors source historic items, often with provenance, collected in the late 19th and first half of the 20th centuries by explorers, scientists and missionaries who would have lived alongside or known the peoples for whom these objects held great significance.”

A wide range of specialist books and publications are available for sale. Tribal Art London will be a major new draw for collectors and connoisseurs, travellers and adventurers, the enthusiastic and the learned. News on lectures and other events will be announced shortly.

Admission: Free.

Times: 6.30pm – 9.30pm on September 10; 10am – 7pm on September 11 and 12; 10am – 6pm on September 13.